Principles of User Experience Design

This week, I was introduced to the concept of user journey maps. Right away, I was intrigued. Combining problem-solving and graphic design is right up my alley, and journey mapping requires just that. It felt like creating my own treasure map for a quest to the final outcome of a user’s goal. This method helps…

As a designer, I’ve always thought I had a knack for developing creative solutions and sharing my ideas with others, but as I continue to look deeper into my abilities, I realize I’ve just scratched the surface of ideation possibilities. When I work individually, I can go about problem solving in any way that makes…

In the world of UX design, defining a problem sounds like a piece of cake, but knowing the right problem to address takes a bit of work. This is where point of view statements come into play. A point of view (POV) statement is an actionable problem statement that allows you to ideate in a…

Have you ever built a virtual character to act as your avatar and wondered what that person might be like in real life? Would they share your interests? How would they go about being human? If you have, creating user personas might be right up your alley. User personas are fictional representations of a target…

Picture this: someone approaches you with a problem you’ve never heard of or experienced and they’re asking you for help – what do you do? Would you turn them down due to your lack of understanding, or would you take the time to connect with this person and the problem at hand?  Over the past…

When beginning the process of design, it’s easy to picture an ultra-rigid, scientific method that you need to stick to in order to be successful. Great news – this isn’t the case at all. Like I’ve mentioned before in other posts about design thinking, it is human centered. Empathy is the first step in understanding…

I am a self-proclaimed ponderer. I like to take my time thinking things through before reaching any sort of conclusion. This habit of mine was challenged when I was tasked to complete a design sprint exercise this week. This project had me do something I NEVER do; time myself. Knowing that there’s a timer counting…

WHAT IS DESIGN THINKING? If you’re anything like me, you would define design thinking as the process designers go through to solve a problem. Sounds pretty straightforward, right? The truth is, design thinking is for everyone. Whether or not you classify yourself as a designer, you might be a key asset to finding a solution…